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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (June 21, 1890)
If 788 WEST The business streets are lined with such buildings as appear illustrated in the supplement. Whatcom creek runs from the charming lake of the same name about three miles back through the center of the town, and just before joining the salt water it forms the picturesque cascade shown in the illustration. This stream furnishes abundant power for running a large saw mill that is located but a few feet distant from the bottom of the water fall. New Whatcom and Whatcom have five lumber and shingle mill i and two sash and door factories. Thus building materials, of wood, are plentiful and cheaper than at any other point on the sound. For this reason most of the buildings are of wood. However, since the opening of a quarry of superior sandstone and the establishment of two brick yards, brick and stone are entering largely into the new structures and a noticeable im provement in the architecture of business blocks is the result. A sense of the liability to heavy loBses from fires which wooden buildings present is causing a change to more substantial ma terials. New Whatcom has an excellent water service. The supply is obtained from Lake Whatcom, a natural reservoir of pure water at an altitude of more than 300 feet above the harbor. It is a somewhat remarkable body of water. It has been sounded 000 feet and in many places no bottom found at that depth. It 1b fed by springs. Large numbers of fish thrive in it. The altitude of the reservoir insures as great pressure as can be handled without the necessity for expensive pumping plants. The water is conducted to the city in steel mains. Electric illumination is furnished for public and private use in the city. Last year in Whatcom $110,000 were expended on street improvements, and a large amount of work was done in Sehome. These figures will be duplicated this year. The streets are graded and planked and are kept in good condition. A sewerage system Is now being constructed. A street railway to connect all the towns on Belllngham bay is contemplated and will probably be built before the end of the present year. Two other companies want franchises for street railways, so there will soon be no lack of cheap transportation in and be tween the towns. New Whatcom and Whatcom have two daily newspapers, one tri-weekly and two weeklies. Three banking houses are doing business there. The school facilities hitherto have not been adequate to the demands upon them, but at the beginning of the present school year their capacity will be more than doubled, and they will be thoroughly equipped for work. Thore are nine churches of different denominations. It is more nearly a city of homes than most seaport towns. The pleasant and healthful climate and natural beauty of the loca tion attract many people whose prime object is not business but to obtain a congenial residence place. New Whatcom of fers unusual attractions in this line. Lovers of rod and gun find rare sport at no great distance from the city. The scenery la picturesque and there are countless rustic amusements to beguile the time of the tourist. New Whatcom is now most conveniently reached by water. Connection with outside railroads will be made within four months, io that travelers may reach the city by rail from Seat tle on the south and from the Canadian Pacific lines on the north. Thia must bring closer relations with the outside world and produce marked change in the local growth. There are no aafor places for investment in the west. New Whatcom enjoys the unique distinction of having never levied a property tax, the receipts from liquor licenses having been sufficient for all local needs. The Interests centering about Belllngham bay nuke New Whatcom a point of peculiar interest, and its prog- SHORE. ress is being watched by live men. This year will determine more important features for that locality than have ever before been focused there. MONTANA AS A FARMING COUNTRY. There are some good reasons for believing that Montana will always be a good country for the farmer. Up to this date it has been one of the best America has yet developed, and we believe it will continue as such time out of mind. There is nowhere to be found an agricultural community in such a flour ishing condition as the farmers of this state at this writing, and there is a bright hope for an improvement in the business in the near future. There was a time when we entertained serious fears le&t with the increase of population and the bringing under cultivation of a large area of land produce would decline to a level of the older states. But our fears in that direction are now entirely dispelled. We find that until there is a great revolution in our water system the acreage can scarcely be increased above what is at present under cultivation, and as the mining industry is multiplying very rapidly there 'is no possibility of our own Btate being able to furnish a home supply of grain, fruits, vegetables, etc., for our own people, which is a safe guarantee that Montana farmers can always obtain sea board prices, with freight added, for their produce. A period will arrive in time when the farm area will be over three times what it is to-day. But this will have to be brought about by a system of reservoirs and long canals, and will be accom plished so gradually that the increase of consumption will be greater than the increase of production possibly can be. This being the case, there is no reason why farming may not con tinue to be as it is now one of the safest and best industries of the state. There is no question in the minds of the editors of this paper about the practicability of the reservoir system. But on valleys like the Gallatin, Madison, Jefferson,' Bitter Boot, Yellowstone, Missouri and Sun Eiver, where the rivers carry a great abundance of water the dryeBt season, the same system that is now in vogue, of long canals, is infinitely to be preferred. The canals, such as would be necess&ry to water the valleys, would necessarily be long and large, but they are within the reach of the farmers of these sections if ocly they will combine together. And by cutting water ways with a capacity to flood all the valley lands nearly every foot of areable lands on these valleys may be watered ; as with a river canal for all the low lands, the water from the side streams may be turned aside upon the foothill ranches, and thus water enough will be had to cover most of the country susceptible of agriculture. In early days it was idle to talk of taking ditches from many of our rivers, as it was too great an undertaking for the farmer with limited means. In some instances a number of men went in together and took out water, and to-day are happy, for they plenty of water and the fickleness of the seasons does not effect them. And now that our farming people are all pretty comfort ably fixed, and many of them have money to their credit in our banks, and there is no reason why there should be a scar city of water for farming on any of our valleys through which course our principal rivers. Let stock companies be formed without further delay and the work commenced. Farmers can pay for their stock by contracting to build a certain amount of ditch. The value of their work can be easily estimated by the number of cubic yards of dirt to be moved. By commencing now and prosecuting, the work vigorously the majority of our valleys may be supplied with water by next season. There are no chances to take in investments of this kind. Montana agri culture Is a permanent and prosperous industry, and he that secures land and water lays broad and deep the foundation of a